BUSINESS

By Chris Tedder, Research Analyst FOREX.comThe much anticipated Chinese GDP data printed just below consensus at 7.

Local stocks closed in the red for the sixth session in a row today, posting the Australian share market's longest losing streak since November last year. Weaker than expected jobs numbers hurt investor sentiment while falls on US share markets and reports China is considering reducing state steel output contributed to the negative tone. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) closed down 29pts or 0.7pct to 4106.

Blackberry and Windows could be considered as the "underdogs" in the smartphone market because they have been overshadowed by big players in the smartphone market like Apple and Google's Android.

A new research report shows that PC sales are now declining while the sales figures of tablets and smartphones are rising. This new trend shows that people are now more interested in tablets and smartphones as compared to PCs.

New rumored pictures of iPhone 5 have emerged courtesy of Gotta Be Mobile. The images revealed that the iPhone 5 has the same width with the previous model though a little taller and thinner.

Facebook, the largest social networking, recently revamped its Events page with Calendar and Lists view.

Apple's MacBook Air is known as being one of the thinnest laptops in the world. As it turns out, this title is not really for MacBook Air as Acer Aspire S5 takes the crown for this title.

Manchester United, arguably the most popular sports club in the planet, wishes to join the fray in Wall Street purportedly to fix its financial woes, which reportedly commenced when the team changed ownership in 2005, and possibly to prolong its legacy.

Global shipments of personal computers shrunk anew in the June quarter, underscoring the weakening interest on the device that has been the tech world's hero product since Apple, IBM and Microsoft launched their initial units in the early 1980s.

If BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) will pursue its Olympic Dam expansion plan, the venture would produce sufficient uranium to fuel one-third of the global demand for use in nuclear power plants, according to South Australia Mineral and Resources Minister Tom Koutsantonis.

Coles put in place on Wednesday a two-pronged strategy to address the worsening labour row at its warehouses. It asked Fair Work Australia (FWA) to assume jurisdiction over the problem, while Toll Holdings made a new wage offer to the striking workers.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 48 points or 0.4% while the S&P closed flat at 1341 and the Nasdaq lost 0.

The Australian share market closed marginally in the red today, its fifth consecutive session of losses, although volumes were very low. Falls on offshore markets overnight contributed to the negative mood, although there was some buying in retail related stocks on the back of a pick-up in consumer sentiment. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) finished the day's trade at 4135, down 3pts or 0.1pct.

Apple Inc. has recently asked to remove 39 Apple products from the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). This decision from Apple has raised some recycling concerns from industry observers and environmentalists alike.

The newest Android update which is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean is now available for unlocked Samsung Galaxy Nexus as of today. The update would start for devices located in the U.S.

As part of Google's "spring cleaning", Google announced that they will be shutting down iGoogle. The iGoogle service is scheduled to end on November 1, 2013.

Apple is known for having a "signature" design in their products but there is one specific product that defies this "signature" design. This is the iPod Nano.

Coles, Priceline, Target, Bunnings and Dick Smith are the country's top rated retailers, all coming in first place within their respected sectors, a survey conducted on 16,000 digital shoppers has revealed.

A survey by consulting firm Hay Group forecasts that Australian workers could expect a 4 per cent salary increase in the next 12 months. The estimated is based on its analysis of salary data from over 440 organisations and 270,000 jobs in the past year to February.

News about Xbox 720 and its pending release has been going around in the Internet ever since leaked documents about the Xbox 720 was revealed. The latest prediction about Xbox 720 is that it will go on sale for only US$99 with a monthly TV subscription fee.

What we have at the moment is a cash rate lower than what is deemed appropriate by the central bank, according to Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Deputy Governor Philip Lowe.

Australians should brace for the not-so-favourable business trends to remain in place for a longer period of time, a Treasury official warned on Tuesday.

By Greg PeelExchange traded funds (ETF) have now been the fastest growing investment product globally in the past decade and continue to be so.

The arena for a price war is no longer limited to grocery shelves between supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths. It has gone up 30,000 feet into the Australian sky as Qantas and Virgin Australia battle for corporate travelers.

Volvo has lifted the lid on its next generation of vehicle safety systems designed to protect drivers from stray animals and red-light runners, and take full control of the car in congested city traffic.

The industrial action at the Coles warehouse in Melbourne entered its third day on Wednesday with Toll Holdings, the operator of the facility, threatening striking workers with legal action.

China's consumer prices rose 2.2% in June from the year before, according to data published yesterday. That rate is a 29-month low. More importantly, it has some people excited that China's authorities have free reign to promote growth through more stimulus. They can spend, spend, spend without fear of igniting socially destabilising inflation in consumer prices.

A tell-tale sign that we're at the logical frontier of monetary policy in a fiat money system is that central bank rate cuts no longer produce stock market rallies. For example, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut interest rates for the second time in a month last week. And stocks? Nothing.

By Greg PeelThe Dow closed down 83 points or 0.7% while the S&P fell 0.8% to 1341 and the Nasdaq lost 1.